big stanchez in little oregon
by TheHarlequinnCat
Summary: This is basically a series of stories- mainly to convey Stanchez headcanons and just have a kind've feel good read. Not complete, REVIEW what you'd like to see/headcanons of your own/etc! :)


_Disclaimer: do not own anything, and this story is just absolute trash-shipper shit. Contextually, this will take place at the Mystery Shack, and will be continued/(dis)continued depending on what reviews and ideas people want to explore. Rick is growing senile in his age, and Stan is left to deal with the aftermath of his alcoholic, crazy-smart, and doddering partner.. (thought it would be interesting to explore their old-age relationship a little more, except with more focus on the fact they are our beloved grumpy old men xx)_

 _Breakfast:_

Rick had a dream that night, it was more of a flashback than anything, he was reliving some kind of series of events. At this point, his mind was so busy that it ran at 200% every day, and in that speed he didn't seem to be touching much reality as his nihilistic demeanor grew more and more erratic. He heard the low hums and vibrations of Runaway by Del Shannon, and grimly wondered why that annoying song had to echo in the back of his head. Even the triangle demon both Stans warned him about would probably go crazy trying to enter his thoughts and experiences, especially with the endless loop of old sixties music played at his prom. The same classic tunes he and Stanley danced to when they were foolish and young.

He believed that in some gross sense that while love was a series of chemical reactions, there was no such thing as true love or perfect matches; in fact, two people (as long as they were entertained and relatively peaceful) could get along for as long as they truly wanted to. Marriage was a trap, but there was nothing wrong with returning to Stan in his age; he needed someone to take care of him, and that was the shitty part of getting old. For the convenience of someone to listen to his babbling, to clean up his mess, and keep him active. Hell, if it weren't for family he would've since long offed himself. He was brought back to some naive time in his memories, where he met Stan (arguably 'too early' in his life) in his hunky youth. God, he had never seen such thick hair, soft as freshly turned cotton. Some acne scars stippled his weathered calloused skin, as well as a strong morning shadow across his manly jaw. From his bulky boxer's biceps to his 'broken-too-many-times' nose, and his crooked smile- all the way down to his clunky clumsy feet and shabby knees. Rick found some comfort in the strange fruit of old love, in imperfect human love that he hadn't experienced in so long.

Upon opening his eyes, he found that the bed was empty, and confused; he stumbled to the kitchen where the sickly sweet smell of pecans and belgian waffles emanated. "Stan, my man, whaAHt are you doing?" He asked, reaching without even realizing for the beer and popping the tab. It was instinct at this point, the flask usually came out on the go, he didn't mind light alcohol in the morning. At this point, as well, Stan had learned to live with his partner's addiction. Rick took his lectures with a grain of salt, as he always had, and asked where his fun ol' buddy had gone. Stan ignored him, grumbling something incoherent under his breath about the time. Rick squinted to the light coming from the kitchen window, taking another drooly sip of his can. Belching casually, he shuffled in all his pink-slippered glory to snag the first prepared waffle. Stan shot him a somewhat dirty glower, but rolled his eyes and continued to make one more for himself.

"S-So when are the kids coming up?" Rick started as soon as Stan sat down at the table with him.

"I don't know, maybe this spring break.. Ford should be coming back from his studies a week or two before that, I swear, getting a second grant for the same shitty studies in a different place? You'd think with him practically fucking Gravity Falls over that he'd have the sense to stop."

"Studiess-r important." Rick muttered with a huff, "'ts like telling a fish it can't swim anymore. You saw the nature documentary about fish, they die if they don't swim."

"They can evolve." Stan bickered back, unsure of where Rick even came up with this documentary and shit about fishes and swimming. It was uncalled for, if not completely random, and these odd conversations had come up more and more as Rick seemed to get older. They continued to eat their waffles in silence, Stan partially listened to Rick talk about how he wasn't sure if he was remembering something about a dimension he went to or if he'd had a dream for the first time in decades. It made Stan's heart sink into the pit of his stomach, he knew Rick had always suffered with depression; in fact, he maybe thought they'd unexpectedly crossed paths for spiritual reasons. Now, Stan wasn't always the 'spiritual' type; but as death came closer, and he had more years behind him than ahead, he had the time to reflect on where they all stood in the universe. Rick told him it was stupid and 'human'; to pretend to make sense of the world's completely random and inconsistent order of events. But somewhere in his heart, Stan liked to believe that maybe he and Rick crossed paths when they were younger because if they hadn't- both of them would've likely ended up dying. Rick would've lost himself to depression, if he didn't to drugs, and never become such an esteemed scientist. Although he was reverting and degenerating to the same mental state as of lately, Stan believed that maybe that could be the reason they were together again. Because of all the people in the world he would've seen again, he least expected it to be his sweetheart from back in the day- ironically, they both lost their wives and both had families they cared deeply for.

God, they used to be the team of the century; if there were two people who could get out of any trap, who could fake sober on any drug, or keep each other above water in the midst of a flood- it was Rick and Stan. In fact, they had gotten drunk at the big family New Years party last year and danced on the bar together to The Isley Brother's "Shout!" on the jukebox. How many drunken karaokes, stoned circles, and trouble they had gotten into together in their lifetimes pretty much left them able to handle going through anything; and honestly, compared to when Rick used to lose his shit, they functioned so closely that they were unstoppable.

-.

Maybe another chapter coming soon?


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